Six Nations Rugby, Ankles and Stoke City

Stoke City should be a Rugby team. I don't think Italy are very good, so Stoke can replace them in the Six Nations Cup. I'm not being sour, we won last night, but Stoke just came up with some horrendously mistimed challenges. Either their players are consistently blind and stupid or it's a tactic and this tactic may well have cost us an important player.

Walcott sprained his leg quite badly when Whitehead fouled him and then proceeded to squash it. He's out of contention for the Carling Cup final but I hope he'll be back in time for Sunderland at home next Saturday. Every time Arshavin, Wilshere or Chamakh got the ball, the Stoke defenders rammed into them a few seconds after they passed it on. I also have a feeling that the loud boos were messing with Ryan Shawcross' head. Late on in the game, as Sagna and Shawcross were looking to control an airborne ball, Shawcross grabbed Sagna tightly around his midriff, pushed him to the ground and literally sat on him and appealed for a penalty. It's just a pathetic way to play.

On the other hand, we started our run of five games in two weeks with a win, and this put us a point behind United. They have a game in hand, but that's against an improving Chelsea side. I didn't watch the Copenhagen match, but apparently, Torres had his first good performance. I hope that United lose, quite obviously. Arsenal need to keep winning games, as being the only team in all four competitions gives an immense confidence boost, as one would think.

But first things first: Wembley, Sunday night.

Winning the first trophy in five years and bringing the first trophy to the Emirates will do wonders for the squad. Wenger knows that and he's going to go with a strong squad and use the final as a boost for other competitions as well. Cesc has a chance to return after last night's injury he's a necessity as he provides the balls for Nasri's inside out runs that increase his efficiency. Koscielny and van Persie were out against Stoke and let's hope they're fit to destroy Birmingham at the Wembley.

Which has a terrible pitch. Just saying.

The Spirited Fightback: A Historical Night

Before Wednesday night, Wenger's teams had never beat Barcelona in 5 attempts, but that changed on account of a worthy team performance.

Arsenal has been criticized on many counts, mainly not defending, being lazy while off the ball and not creating enough chances against the big teams.

Well, teams don't get bigger than Barca, arguably the best team in the world.

Wenger's men started the game quite brightly, sweeping Guardiola's team away with blistering pace. Unfortunately, Barca found their niche after fifteen minutes and proceeded to dominate most of the first half. They deservedly took the lead courtesy for David Villa and I was on edge, praying for the halftime whistle. Everyone thought that we were finished, that Barca would know crush us and that they would be helped by our seemingly stuttering resolve when it mattered most.

They were wrong.

We played the second half much better and we pressed and pressured Messi, Xavi and Iniesta when they had the ball. As the half progressed, the crowd become more and more boisterous. Our work rate was phenomenal and we looked confident. As we probed for an equalizer, the excellent Koscielny and Szczesny kept the visitors at bay. Van Persie scored from an acute angle and then Arshavin finished off a lightning counter attack involving Wilshere, Cesc and Nasri to put us a goal to the good. By now, the crowd was just raucous and I could hear their perfectly enunciated chants from my living room TV. That's the loudest I've ever heard the Emirates faithful and it sure helped the Gunners.

Everyone knows that Barca are the best at keeping the ball and that it's quite difficult to get it off them and attack. That's why Mourinho opted to sit back and stifle them. Wenger stubbornly refused to adopt that tactic, but to be fair to him, you can't ask a team that plays high tempo attacking football week-in, week-out, to suddenly curb that; it'll be an epic fail. He stuck to his guns and in the end his philosophy prevailed and our counter attacks were productive. We worked very hard off the ball and if the lazy Arshavin could track back and pressure Barcelona, then you can see how committed the team was. Wilshere was quite impressive on the night. He was unfazed by the fact that he was placed in a midfield containing the world's best players and he went about his job in scintillating fashion. Sure, his critics will say that Xavi bettered Wilshere's stats by a mile, but Xavi is Xavi. He's an accomplished 31 year old player, while Jack is 19. He exuded confidence and he played an integral part in the victory. It's a pity he couldn't score, because some of his play was just exquisite, for example, the one two he played with Cesc in Barca's penalty area was destined for a goal if only Abidal hadn't made a last ditch challenge. Szczesny was also brilliant, with a flawless performance. He read the runs of Pedro and Messi and collected every dangerous ball that came his way. This season is the first season since Lehmann left that we look to have a solid and confident keeper between the posts and this only bodes well for the Gunners.

But just because we overturned the great Barcelona in the first leg doesn't mean much, we still have to play at the Camp Nou. It's a crazy atmosphere and we'll have to see if we can cope with that. They have an away goal, which is worrisome and Arsenal need to stifle Barcelona once again and at least score on goal. A draw is an ideal result, but we'll see how it all pans out. For now, we need to concentrate on getting past Leyton Orient in the FA Cup and winning the Carling Cup Final. The Barca win will provide ample confidence and so will the fact that Cesc seemed so fired up and awed by the Arsenal performance and crowd that less people are putting their money on Cesc leaving for the Catalonia and that has got to raise the dressing room a bit higher.

The no longer young Gunners have proved their mettle time and again this season and I hope they can rise to the occasion once more.

In Arsene We Trust.

I just hope he doesn't make the defence play that super high line at the Camp Nou. It gave me mini heart attacks.

Mid Season Review: 2010/2011

Chelsea pulverized every team they played in the beginning of the season and United looked pathetically average. Arsenal went about their business well except for losing at home to the Baggies, Magpies and Spurs. All of a sudden, United looked stronger, Chelsea choked, sputtered and faltered and Arsenal found a new vein of consistency that has kept them hot on United's heels. Nasri's definitely been our player of this enthralling season and let's see what else has stood out so far, between August 2010 and February 2011.

Best Individual Performance:

Samir Nasri against Fulham at the Emirates, December-

Nasri single-handedly propelled us to the top spot after his crazy double in this game. First, he left two defenders staring as he beat them and then thumped the ball into the roof of the net. For his second, he beat a defender, beat the keeper and looked to be going wide, but he smartly pirouetted around the ball and slammed the ball home. The Emirates faithful erupted and sang, "We're top now!"

Goal of the Season, so far:

Samir Nasri's second goal against Fulham was just pure class. I was on the edge of my seat as he beat the defender and then the keeper, but then he went too far out from the goal and I thought that he would disappoint. It was one of those times when you're happy to be wrong and the Frenchman produced a slick move to seal the three points.

Game of the Season:

Arsenal against Chelsea the Emirates, December-

This game was in no way an even contest, but it had great meaning for Arsene Wenger and the boys. Arsenal had a horrid record against United and Chelsea and looked to rectify that. Didier Drogba looked to be Arsenal's bogeyman had scored 10 goals in 7 matches against us and we needed to put an end to that. Our performance was collectively one of the best that I've seen in recent times. It was not only the attack that fired, but our defense was finally up to scratch. Djourou and Koscielny were forging a great center back partnership and were composed, physical and commanding. Song put us ahead right before halftime just as Fabregas was bundled over by Ivanovic, so we would've been awarded a penalty anyway. A defensive error by Essien allowed Walcott to provide Fabregas and 3 minutes later, Fabregas turned provider and Walcott fired the ball past Petr Cech. Arsenal looked quite comfortable, with 3 goals to the good until a monstrous Drogba free kick was headed home by Ivanovic. Chelsea pressed relentlessly but Arsenal saw it through and red and white prevailed in North London that night.

All in all, it's been a topsy-turvy and frenetic season but the Gunners are still the only English club in contention for all 4 trophies. With the Carling Cup trophy just a win away, let's use that as a catalyst (as Jack Wilshere so rightly puts it) for more and end the trophy drought. Here's to another trophy!

Come on you Gunners.